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Pro Log: UK to host both 2027 Tour de France starts; Underdogs rule Opening Weekend; Magnus Cort nets three wins in five days
Welcome back to another edition of Pro Log. Here’s a rundown of the latest results before we get started:
- Faun Drome Classic, Sun 2nd Mar: 1st Juan Ayuso, UAE Team Emirates XRG, 4h 31min 48sec; 2nd Mattias Skjelmose, Lidl-Trek, +23sec; 3rd Ben Tulett, Visma-Lease a Bike, +1min 15sec.
- Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Sun 2nd Mar: 1st Jasper Philipsen, Alpecin-Deceuninck, 4h 42min 24sec; 2nd Olav Kooij, Visma-Lease a Bike, +00sec; 3rd Hugo Hofstetter, Israel-Premier Tech, +00sec.
- O Gran Camiño, Overall, Sun 2nd Mar: 1st Derek Gee, Israel-Premier Tech, 15h 21min 23sec; 2nd Davide Piganzoli, Team Polti VisitMalta, +35sec; 3rd Magnus Cort, Uno-X Mobility, +38sec.
- O Gran Camiño, Stage 5, Sun 2nd Mar: 1st Magnus Cort, Uno-X Mobility, 3h 43min 52sec; 2nd Carlos Canal, Movistar, +00sec; 3rd Giovanni Lonardi, Team Polti VisitMalta, +00sec.
- Men’s Omloop Nieuwsblad, Sat 1st Mar: 1st Søren Wærenskjold, Uno-X Mobility, 4h 37min 53sec; 2nd Paul Magnier, Soudal-QuickStep, +00sec; 3rd Jasper Philipsen, Alpecin-Deceuninck, +00sec.
- Women’s Omloop Nieuwsblad, Sat 1st Mar: 1st Lotte Claes, Arkéa-B&B Hotels, 3h 53min 43sec; 2nd Aurela Nerlo, Winspace-Orange Seal, +00sec; 3rd Demi Vollering, FDJ-Suez, +3min 25sec.
UK set to host both Tour de France Grand Départs in 2027
Great Britain is set to host the Grand Départs of the 2027 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes according to the BBC and Yorkshire Post. The men’s race last visited Britain in 2014, when Stage 1 and 2 took place in Yorkshire and Stage 3 went into London. Those reports have suggested the men’s Grand Départ will be in Edinburgh, while the women will start from Leeds.
UK Sport said, ‘We have made no secret of our ambition to host the Tour de France Grand Depart in Britain – to inspire more people to enjoy cycling and bring lasting benefits to communities.
‘However, we respect this is a matter for the ASO and we remain committed to working hard to develop opportunities that can bring the joy of cycling to everyone.’
It comes off the heels of the fact there will be no free-to-air TV coverage of the Tour from 2026 after the double blow of ITV losing broadcast rights and Discovery+’s coverage moving onto the £30.99 a month TNT Sports subscription.
The underdogs win big at Omloop Nieuwsblad
It was quite the unexpected start to Classics season at Omloop Nieuwsblad (the ‘Het’ has officially been dropped). In the men’s Omloop, a large bunch sprint would decide the victor with Uno-X Mobility’s Søren Wærenskjold taking the biggest win of his career ahead of Soudal-QuickStep’s young talent Paul Magnier and former green jersey winner Jasper Philipsen.
The women’s edition didn’t go according to the script either. Arkéa-B&B Hotels’ Lotte Claes and Winspace-Orange Seal’s Aurela Nerlo were part of the day’s breakaway and rode clear on the slower slopes of the Muur van Geraardsbergen with 17km to go. By this point they still had over five minutes’ lead on the main peloton, who had failed to get organised in time, and the duo would head into the finale with a famous win secured.
Once they’d safely reached Ninove together, Nerlo tried to launch at 1km to go but Claes responded and was too strong for Nerlo in the sprint to the line.
Jasper Philipsen nets first victory of year at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
Despite striking out at the UAE Tour, Jasper Philipsen scored his first win of the season on his 27th birthday at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. After a perfect leadout from Kaden Groves, Philipsen comfortably beat Visma-Lease a Bike’s Olav Kooij and Israel-Premier Tech’s Hugo Hofstetter in the sprint.
It wasn’t all good news for Alpecin-Deceuninck. Groves was issued a yellow card, fined 500CHF (approx £439) and relegated down from tenth to 57th place for his movement after pulling off to let Philipsen go clear and celebrating while riders behind him were still sprinting. The new rule from the UCI is for those ‘decelerating during a sprint and endangering other riders’ by ‘knowingly staying within the line of other riders, celebrating in the bunch, talking on the radio or taking hands off handlebars while in the bunch.’
Magnus Cort runs riot at O Gran Camiño
MAGNUS CORT MAKES IT BACK-TO-BACK WINS!
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) February 27, 2025
The Uno-X Mobility rider is victorious once again at O Gran Camino as he dominates the sprint!#OGC25 pic.twitter.com/B0iq8Ngsdx
It was a successful week at O Gran Camiño for Uno-X’s new signing Magnus Cort. The Dane took the lead with a long sprint to victory on the opening stage and doubled up the next day on a short climb to the finish. He then won again on the fifth and final day to Santiago de Compostela to secure the points classification and a general classification podium, 38sec behind winner Derek Gee.
See you next week.
The post Pro Log: UK to host both 2027 Tour de France starts; Underdogs rule Opening Weekend; Magnus Cort nets three wins in five days appeared first on Cyclist.